Restoration project begins

New trees will be part of Trask memorial's rehabilitation plan

Published 9:35 pm, Friday, July 25, 2014

Samantha Mosshart, executive director of the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation, right, announces the renovation plans for memorial built in honor of Spencer Trask, background, in Congress Park Friday morning July 25, 2014 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Joining Bosshart is Anthony "Skip" Scirocco, Commissioner of Public Works for the City of Saratoga Springs and a important part of the renovation project. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union) less

Samantha Mosshart, executive director of the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation, right, announces the renovation plans for memorial built in honor of Spencer Trask, background, in Congress Park Friday ... more

The city and the foundation have partnered to split the approximately $500,000 cost of the project. They hope to have the restoration completed by June to celebrate the centennial of both the memorial and the incorporation of Saratoga Springs as a city.

"The historic preservation is what separates Saratoga Springs from many other cities and towns," said Mayor Joanne Yepsen.

The city will begin repairing the masonry surrounding the Spirit of Life statue on Monday, according to Commissioner of Public Works Anthony "Skip" Scirocco, who said the job should take about four months.

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The restoration also calls for the area to be newly landscaped and for the Spirit of Life statue to be reconditioned.

Bosshart said the bronze statue, which was sculpted by Daniel Chester French, who created the statue of Abraham Lincoln in Washington, D.C., is in the best condition of the three project areas because of a previous restoration in the 1980s.

Bosshart said the restoration is meant to protect the structural integrity of the memorial and to restore it to the way it looked in 1915 because the surrounding landscape has changed over the years.

The statue was commissioned by Yaddo founder Katrina Trask in 1913 to honor her husband, financier Spencer Trask, and his efforts to preserve the springs that give the city its name.

The Spirit of Life and Trask memorial restoration is not the only centennial celebration planned for Congress Park. Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson in June proposed to create "Centennial Park," a winner's circle-shaped pocket park at the end of the park near Union Avenue.